Linguistics

Objective:

Entrepreneurs need to be able to act out different roles in different situations. A good entrepreneur is a good actor. In building relationships with different stakeholders the entrepreneur will need to act out different roles –with a banker, venture capitalist, government official, employee, regulator, customer and so on. It is a key essence of entrepreneurship to see oneself through the eyes of major stakeholders. As well as building personal confidence there is a strong emphasis upon being creative under pressure making collective decisions rapidly and working together as a team.

Overview:

The use of drama is the creation and performance by an individual or group of an incident, scenario or sequence of events designed to portray the emotional and relationship as well as cognitive aspects of the scene. Its use can serve a number of purposes:

• It is a reminder that no information received from interviews and research approaches (no matter how good the checklist) is truly objective. The results always reflect the values and beliefs of the person interviewed and often their recent experiences and emotions. For example, a person who has recently been convicted by police of a speeding traffic offence will have a different response to questions about the role and value of the police force in general than someone who has just been saved by the police from an assault. A dramatic presentation of interviews will demand interpretation of the emotions behind the message.
• It demands of the creators of the drama that they must put themselves 'in the shoes' of the provider of information and see the results from their point of view. The conventional academic process of data collection often makes little or no demand upon understanding the data from the providers' point of view.
• Drama demands that individual characters in the drama are understood through the eyes of the other characters. The dramatist makes the character believable by portraying him/her through the eyes of other characters in the drama.
• Messages and information delivered in innovative ways will make a bigger impact and can create wider understanding. Entrepreneurs often need to use creative ways of delivering messages. TV advertising is, for example, drama. A presentation can be dramatic to make an impact.
• Drama provides training in acting skills, which build confidence and ability to personally project.
• Developing a drama demands the use of creative ability often the need is to develop a metaphor to enhance the impact of a message or indeed generalise it.
• Developing drama in groups also creates a powerful bonding process.

Activity:

Use of drama can take a number of forms including Role Play and Hot Seating (see further How To Guides).

Participants can be asked, in small groups, to create a scene portraying a single message, often through metaphor. For example, in the entrepreneurship context they can be asked to prepare a short scene portraying one of a number of entrepreneurial behaviours or attributes e.g. entrepreneurial risk taking; opportunity identification; initiative taking; strong sense of autonomy; networking; learning by doing, and so on. The 'audience' of other participants is then invited to guess the message, to score the creativity of the metaphor and the degree of entertainment delivered.

The drama can also be constructed around a piece of research - for example, in the context of dramatising a series of interviews as a method of enhancing insight into the results of formal data collection. In this case the key issues arising from the research are discussed in a group and the messages to be delivered are set out. A metaphor is then created and dramatised under guidance and later performed. The audience is then asked to record the key messages of the drama and to score the presentation for creativity and entertainment.

Skill Development:

Participants gain understanding of the emotional aspects of knowledge and how difficult it is to be truly objective. They understand the importance of gaining empathy and insight into the passions, emotions and contexts of situations. They learn about the process of consolidation of ideas and of the importance of presenting these creatively but in a form that will be easily understood.

Resources:

• A Compendium of Pedagogies for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Professor Alan Gibb and Alison Price  
• For further guidance on related activities referenced in this guide (above) see the ETCToolkit How To Guides 'Compendium of Pedagogies: THE USE OF ROLE PLAY' and 'Compendium of Pedagogies: THE USE OF HOT SEATS

References:

N/A

Objective:

• Experience the difference between managerial and entrepreneurial thinking.
• Engage with conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity.
• Illustrate how entrepreneurs think.

Overview:

Given the unprecedented level of uncertainty in business and entrepreneurship, students must learn how to navigate effectively in an increasingly uncertain world. The exercise consists of students starting in one room with the task of completing a jigsaw puzzle. Students are systematically moved toanother room, where they are asked to create a quilt from a selection of fabric pieces. The debrief explores jigsaw puzzles as managerial thinking and quilt making as entrepreneurial thinking. There is an optional debrief that includes leadership.

Usage Suggestions

This exercise works for all audiences, undergraduate, graduate, or practitioner. Ideally the exercise should be done on day one of a general entrepreneurship course as a way to set up how entrepreneurs think and the difference between entrepreneurial and managerial thinking.

Activity:

Pre-Work Required by Students

None.

Time Plan (60–80 minutes)

The exercise begins in a room with tables for each team. Students are asked to clear their table in preparation. The second room required is a large empty space. A table (fairly long) is placed in front of this room or space, and fabric pieces are piled on the table. The piles should be messy, with all the fabrics mixed up (not sorted by size, colour, or any other dimension).

Puzzle time 0:00–0:05 (5 minutes)

Divide students into groups of five to seven and give them the following directions: “Your task is quite easy but you don’t have a lot of time. Your goal is to put together the puzzle that is sitting on the table as fast as you possibly can. It’s only 300 pieces! You can do it. Get started. You are being timed. Don’t worry; there are no cameras in the room!”

Random Pull - Out to Quilting Room 0:05–0:30 (25 minutes)

Pull students at random from the puzzle room, one at a time, asking for one volunteer from each group. The individual volunteered or selected from each group is taken to the empty room with the table of fabric.

At the fabric table the first group is told: “Your new task is quite easy but you don’t have a lot of time. You are now designated quilt leaders. Your goal is to construct a design for a quilt. Choose six pieces of fabric from the table – no more and no less. Select an area in the room and begin to construct a quilt. You may not come back to the table for more or different fabric. No sewing is required. Simply place your fabric on the ground as if you were going to sew patches of fabric together to create the quilt. The goal is to build the best quilt you possibly can. Others will join you a bit later. Have fun!”

Note: Each quilt leader should choose six pieces of fabric, and each will begin his or her own quilt in different areas of the room. Subsequent “volunteers” are taken out of the puzzle rooms at two to three minute intervals and instructed to take six pieces of fabric and join any quilt in progress that interests them. “Your new task is quite easy but you don’t have a lot of time. Join one of the groups in the room. You do not have to stay with the team members from your puzzle group. Your goal is to construct a design for a quilt. Choose six pieces of fabric from the table – no more and no less. Next, join a group to help them build the best quilt you can. You may not exchange fabric once you choose. No sewing is required. Simply place your fabric on the ground as if you were going to sew patches of fabric together to create the quilt. Have fun!” When all individuals are out of the puzzle room and in the quilt room, allow two more minutes to complete the quilts.

Debrief 0:30–1:00 (30 minutes)

The debrief may take place inside the quilt room or back in the classroom depending on group size. If debriefing inside the quilt room, have each quilt leader describe how the design of the quilt emerged. If debriefing outside the quilt room, give students time to walk through the quilt room to study all of the quilt designs before leaving the room. Begin with questions:

• How many preferred the puzzle? Why?
• How many preferred the quilt? Why?

Focus on quilts:

• Ask the leaders about how the design came to be.
• Ask team members why they joined one team versus another.
• How did it feel moving from puzzle to quilts?
• What type of thinking was required for each part of the exercise?

Summary

At this time, it’s important to introduce the concepts of puzzle as managerial thinking and quilts as entrepreneurial thinking. Puzzle as managerial thinking:

• The goal is well defined (the puzzle picture is typically on the outside of the box).
• Determine resources to achieve the goal (puzzle pieces).
• Create a plan (put pieces in piles by colour, and start with the edges).
• Execute the plan (edges first).
• Measure progress along the way.
• Goal achieved – the puzzle looks just like the picture on the front of the box! Well done!

Quilt as entrepreneurial thinking:

• Entrepreneurs start with what they have rather than what they need (fabric pieces).
• When entrepreneurs are not sure what to do their only choice is to act (pick a group and get to work)
• The design of the quilt emerges over time because it’s difficult to plan (the quilt keeps changing every time a new person enters the group and the environment and resources change).
• You never really know when it’s quite finished.
• Creating something new requires iteration rather than linear problem solving.

Optional Leadership Debrief 1:00–1:20 (20 minutes)

• What is leadership? (Ask them to write down their definition.)
• How did you “see” leadership around you? (Call on several different quilt groups.)
• How did you “see” followership?
• Who were the assigned leaders?
• Did the rest of you know there were assigned leaders?
• Pick an assigned leader and ask that person to describe his or her experience.
• When and how do you decide whether to lead or follow?
• What is the difference between leadership, management, and entrepreneurship?
• What is entrepreneurial leadership?

Key Takeaways

• Under conditions of extreme uncertainty the only choice is action.
• One form of thinking (entrepreneurial or managerial) is not necessarily better than the other, yet it is important to understand the environmental context. If the skills for completing a jigsaw puzzle (managerial thinking) are used to solve a complicated problem in an uncertain environment, students are likely to run into one roadblock after another. However, if students can get more comfortable with quilt making (entrepreneurial thinking), then they may be able to navigate the terrain of entrepreneurship with greater aptitude.
• Action trumps planning in uncertain environments.

Teaching Tips

It is preferable not to refer to the exercise as the “quilt exercise” prior to conducting the exercise, as it rather gives away the punch line. Pacing is very important. As soon as the quilt leaders have placed their fabric on the ground, volunteers should be pulled out of the puzzle room approximately every three minutes. Fast pace is much better than a slow pace.

Skill Development:

This exercise is an interactive challenge designed to help raise student awareness of the difference between managerial and entrepreneurial thinking. It also is a strong illustration of how to gain a better understanding of the impact of increasing degrees of uncertainty on the entrepreneurial process.

Resources:

Materials List

• Jigsaw puzzles (one per group, 300 pieces).
• Fabric remnants (approximately six pieces per person).
• Two rooms (one with tables equal to number of groups and one empty).

• The exercise is adapted from Saras Sarasvathy’s crazy quilt principle within her work on effectual entrepreneurship.

The full text ‘Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach’ can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.105 – 109). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Theoretical Foundations

• Neck, H.M. 2011. Cognitive ambidexterity: The underlying mental model of the entrepreneurial leader. In D. Greenberg, K. McKone- Sweet, and H.J. Wilson (eds.)The New Entrepreneurial Leader: Developing Leaders Who Will Shape Social and Economic Opportunities (pp. 24–42). San Francisco: Berrett- Koehler.
• Sarasvathy, S. 2008. Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Schlesinger, L., and Kieffer, C. 2012. Just Start. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Author:

• This exercise is taken from, Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.105 – 109). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub. and is reprinted with the kind permission of the authors.,

Objective:

Participants gain confidence in responding to questioning under pressure. They may importantly also learn that they need to ‘act’ differently with different stakeholders. They learn quickly to adapt to others’ point of view.

Overview:

This is a group exercise. Members of the group in turn are put in the ‘Hot Seat’ to respond to intensive questioning from other group members. Traditionally, this ‘Hot Seating’ technique is used by actors to help them identify with the character they are playing. It is used in entrepreneurship education to enable participants to get inside the culture and values of stakeholders with whom they might have to deal. But it can also be used for intensive questioning of an individual’s own personal aims, objectives and plans including business plans. Other participant’s (the group) act as interrogators in this exercise; note: it can be useful to agree ground rules as what is appropriate in terms of questioning and approach within this task.

Activity:

The hot seat itself is in the middle of a semi-circle of chairs. The person in the ‘Hot Seat’ can be himself/herself or represent a client or stakeholder. Dependent upon the role, questions fired rapidly may relate to personal issues; business/organisational problems or community activities (part of ground rules).

Example Hot Seat: Business/plan/idea

The individual is surrounded by those role playing different stakeholders which the plan might need to convince. The aim is to create recognition that the plan will be seen very differently by very different stakeholders. Interrogators may, for example, play the roles of bankers, venture capitalists, family, local government officials offering grants; a potential large customer who will be judging whether to include the client on a buying list or a major potential supplier who may be asked for credit.

Other participants can then be similarly hot seated. At the end of the hot seating there can be a review of what has been learned about the business plan as a relationship management instrument and how it might be best developed to meet different needs.

Example Hot Seat: different stakeholders
Using the same focus of the business plan; hot seater’s, in turn, can be asked to play the roles of different stakeholders, as above, and are quizzed about what they are looking for and why?

Example Hot Seating: on a problem
The technique can be used to role-play individuals from a case study with the aim of creating lively personalised discussion of major points for learning from the case. It can also be used to focus discussion on how to deal with a particular problem set out in a simple brief.

Skill Development:

This is an exercise in thinking and responding under pressure. It also is designed to stimulate understanding of relationship management and the value of thinking empathetically. It can be used to throw light on the ‘organisational cultures’ of different stakeholders that make them see the same things in different ways.

Resources

A Compendium of Pedagogies for Teaching Entrepreneurship. Professor Alan Gibb and Alison Price -  (PDF) 

Objective:

• Practice and learn the concepts of effectual versus causal logic.
• Illustrate when planning is appropriate versus action.
• Employ experimentation techniques.

Overview:

Groups of students compete to see who can build the tallest freestanding structure supporting a marshmallow on top out of 20 pieces of spaghetti, three feet of tape and three feet of string. This exercise is used to illustrate that under conditions of uncertainty, entrepreneurs rely on experimentation and iterative learning as a means to discover information about their environment.

Students are often taught and are familiar with traditional methods of planning and analysis, which work well in stable environments where the future is likely to be similar to the present. In these cases the future is fairly well known and understood. While some uncertainty exists, it can be categorized as risk.

However, if the future is unknowable, the only way to learn what may work is through experimentation. Typically many of the students spend a large portion of their time designing and planning the structure and only start to build it at the end to find out at the last moment that it cannot support the weight of the marshmallow, and they then go into “crisis” mode. The teams that perform the best are usually those that just start experimenting, learning what works and then modifying their tower based on what they learn. If you are using lean start-up concepts it is also a good way to illustrate the value of market tests.

Usage Suggestions

This exercise works for all audiences, undergraduate, graduate, executive, or practitioner. It is appropriate for new venture creation courses, entrepreneurship boot-camps, or workshops. The session is best positioned early in the course for discussions around planning versus action.

Activity:

Pre-Work Required by Students

• None.

Time Plan (45 minutes)

Step 1 0:00–0:05 (5 minutes)

Hand out the kits (see resources) to each of the teams. Introduce the challenge. Be clear about the goals and rules of the Marshmallow Challenge. It is also helpful to tell them that this has been done by tens of thousands of people around the world from children to CEOs. The rules and goals are as follows.

Goal

Build the tallest freestanding structure: The winning team is the one that has the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, like a chair, ceiling, or chandelier.

Rules

• The entire marshmallow must be on top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team.
• Use as much or as little of the kit as you choose: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, and as much or as little of the string or tape, as they choose. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure.
• Break up the spaghetti, string, or tape if you choose: Teams are free to break the spaghetti or cut up the tape and string to create new structures.
• The challenge lasts 18 minutes: Teams cannot hold on to the structure when the time runs out. Those touching or supporting the structure at the end of the exercise will be disqualified.
• Ensure everyone understands the rules: Don’t worry about repeating the rules too many times. Repeat them at least three times. Ask if anyone has any questions before starting; a good idea is to provide a handout with the instructions in the kit.

Step 2 0:05–0:25 (20 minutes)

• Begin the challenge by starting the clock.
• Walk around the room and note the process that different teams are using.
• Remind the teams of the time: Increase the reminders as time gets shorter (for example, you might remind them at 9 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds and then a 10- second countdown.
• Call out how the teams are doing: Let the entire group know how teams are progressing. Build a friendly rivalry and encourage people to look around.
• Remind the teams that holders will be disqualified: Several teams will have the powerful desire to hold on to their structure at the end, usually because the marshmallow, which they just placed on to their structure moments before, is causing the structure to buckle. The winning structure needs to be stable.

Step 3 0:25–0:30 (5 minutes)

• After the clock runs out, ask everyone in the room to sit down so everyone can see the structures. Usually only about half the teams will have a standing structure.
• Measure the structures: From the shortest standing structure to the tallest, measure and call out the heights. If you’re documenting the challenge, have someone record the heights.
• Identify the winning team: Ensure they get a standing ovation and a prize (if you’ve offered one).

Step 4 0:30–0:45 (15 minutes)

Start by asking some of the teams about the process they used to go about building their structures. You can choose based on what you observed during the challenge. You will generally notice as you go around the room that teams that spend most of their time planning will fail to have a standing structure in the end. Those who experiment and learn through trial and error tend to do much better. It is usually best to start with some of the teams whose structures collapsed.

What process did you use in building your structure?

Focus on whether they spent a lot of time planning and drawing their structure or trial and error.

What went wrong?

• This often highlights issues around unknown factors such as how much weight the spaghetti could support or how much the marshmallow weighed relative to the structure.
• How did you deal with that?
• This will often point out the fact that extensive planning leaves little time for adjusting and learning from experience and results in a “crisis.”

Repeat this with one or more of the more successful groups and try to capture differences and commonalities between them.
You can draw comparisons to various other groups who have done this challenge. The creator of the challenge, Tom Wujec, has
performed this challenge numerous times with a variety of different groups and has found the following:

• The best performers tend to be engineers (good thing). They understand structures and stresses, so this is a more certain environment for them.
• The worst performers tend to be recent business school graduates. They are in a very uncertain environment given limited knowledge about structures. However, they have typically been taught to plan, plan, plan. They spend most of their time planning and then try to build the structure at the last minute. When they put the marshmallow on top it weighs much more than they anticipated and the structure collapses, creating a crisis.
• After engineers, the best performers are recent kindergarten graduates. They are also in an uncertain environment, but they tend to experiment to see what works, learn from that, and build off it to create much more interesting structures.

Emphasize the importance of market tests and experimentation when entering a new, unknown environment. If your students are already working on business ideas, this can be a good place to have them try to think about low- cost ways they could experiment with their concept before making large investments. As an alternative debrief, you can show the TED talk by the creator of this exercise by going to http://www.marshmallowchallenge.com.

Teaching Tips

Be very clear about the goals and rules of the challenge. Generally, you’ll want to repeat them three times and reinforce them visually. In almost every challenge, there is at least one team who will want to cheat or bend the rules in their favour. The clearer you are about the rules the better the results.

Skill Development:

Key Takeaways

• In an unknown environment, it is better to take action than to plan.
• Learning from small experiments and trials can produce more unique solutions – particularly if the future cannot be predicted.
• Failure can provide important insights to improving products or services.

Resources:

Materials List

• Create a kit for each team (about four people per team), with each kit containing 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. These ingredients should be placed into a paper lunch bag or manila envelope (excluding the masking tape), which simplifies distribution and hides the contents, maximizing the element of surprise. The masking tape should be hung on the desks or on the wall for distribution, as putting it in the bags generally causes problems.
• Ensure that you use uncooked spaghetti. Avoid spaghettini, as it is too thin and breaks easily. Fettuccine is too thick.
• Include string that can be easily broken by hand. If the string is thick, include scissors in your kit.
• Use standard- size marshmallows that measure about 1.5 inches across. Avoid mini or jumbo marshmallows. Also avoid stale marshmallows – you want squishy marshmallows that give the impression of lightness.
• You will also need a measuring tape and a stopwatch or countdown application.
• Having a countdown application projected on the screen where they can see the time counting down is preferred (use an online stopwatch on your computer if convenient).

The full text ‘Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach’ can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.125 - 130). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Attribution

• This exercise was originally developed by Tom Wujec for teaching collaborative design. His website containing the instructions, a TED talk about the exercise, and other supporting material can be found at http:// marshmallowchallenge.com

Theoretical Foundations

• Kiefer, C.F., and Schlesinger, L.A. 2010. Action Trumps Everything: Creating What You Want in an Uncertain World. Duxbury, MA: Black Ink Press.
• Ries, E. 2011. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. New York: Crown Business.
• Sarasvathy, S.D. 2001. Causation and effectuation: Towards a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243–88.

Author:

• This exercise is taken from, Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.125 - 130). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub, and is reprinted with the kind permission of the authors. 

Objective:

• To expose students to working within a high pressure, novel, real-world environment.
• To develop students presentation and communication skills.
• To develop students teamwork and interpersonal skills.
• To develop students ability to communicate information effectively to diverse audiences.

Overview:

The ability to work well as a team, to develop and manage effective relationships with a diverse range of audiences, and to be skilled in communication are essential for any student, irrespective of their programme of study, or future career aspirations.

This simple activity encourages students to develop these skills, by inviting them to become the teachers, working in teams to develop presentations, and delivering them to a given audience.

The activity requires minimal presentation, can be easily adapted to suit any group, with ample room to extension activities, and also serves as an effective revision activity for students.

Activity:

Pre-Activity

• Set-up for this activity is minimal.
• You may wish to gather any resources or props in advance of the session, available for students to use in delivering their presentations.
• You may wish to invite in a particular individual or group, to serve as an audience to student presentations.
• You may wish to set students preparatory work to do in advance of the session.

Part 1

• Inform students that they are to prepare a presentation of a given length, on a given subject, for presentation to an audience.
• Provide students with information regarding the subject matter which must be covered.
• Provide students with information regarding the audience for their presentation – To enhance the 'real' element to this task, an external audience may be invited to receive these presentations. This could include students from other courses or year groups, school students, industry relevant professionals or otherwise.
• Provide students with a deadline by which their presentations must be ready to deliver - To provide students with experience of working under pressure, with risk and uncertainly, this deadline could be very tight (i.e. a matter of minutes or hours), with no prior warning of the task. If depth of research and quality of presentation takes precedence, this activity could be spread across a number of sessions, or students provided with advance warning in order to prepare appropriately.

Part 2

• Students organise themselves into teams.
• Within teams, students delegate tasks, and research and prepare their presentations.
• You may wish to allow students access to any appropriate props and resources, computers etc. to support them in this (as time and circumstance permits).
• You may wish to set additional rules to groups (for example, every individual within the group must speak during the presentation).

Part 3

• Students deliver their presentations to one another, and their invited audience.
• You may wish to allow the audience to ask questions to presenters and for students to assess one another as they present.
• You may wish for presentation to be recorded.

Post Activity

• Students can feedback on their experience of the activity (what did they enjoy? what did they find most challenging? what did the activity teach them?).
• If filmed, recording of presentations may be watched and analysed, or made available to students as revision tools.

Skill Development:

• Students will develop their team work and communication skills, be better equipped to work to tight deadlines and under pressure, and more adept at communicating information in an appropriate way for a given audience.
• They will have had opportunities to reflect on their own abilities as communicators, and considers means by which they could improve.
• They will have consolidated the knowledge they were set to present through the task.

Resources:

• An appropriate audience for students to present to.
• Assess to resources, for students use in preparing presentations.

Associated Case Studies

• Teaching the Teachers

Objectives: 

• Ice breaker (which builds a connection between pairs)
• Participants will have to interact and adapt their communication skills to help their team member 
• Participants will reflect and evaluate their performance as a pair
• Improve communication and listening skills and to highlight the importance of trust when working in a team or pair

Overview: 

This physical task engages the whole person in supporting a colleague and ensuring their safety through good communication.  The activity can be used at any time during the session, however it is highly effective as and ice breaker.  It is a fun method to start participants communicating and is simple to deliver in an appropriate environment and can be adjusted depending upon group size, age etc. However health and safety is paramount and you must consider the appropriateness of the group and room for this challenge.

Activity:

You should initiative this activity by stressing the nature of the challenge and stressing that the safety of those involved is paramount.  You can also agree across the group that “stop” can be initiated by any member of the team by raising a hand if they don’t feel that it is safe to proceed.  This can be actioned by anyone and will not result in any penalties.

To run the task, gather the group outside the room and:

1. Scatter furniture that can be used as obstacles but ensuring that safety is not compromised. 
2. Put team members into pairs and should decide amongst them who is to be blindfolded first. 
3. The sighted and blindfolded member should stand at one end of the room. 
4. Aim of the task is for the sighted individual to guide their partner across the room and giving concise information to avoid the obstacles. 
5. Once each team reaches the other side, the pairs are to swap roles 

It could also be possible to create a preferred route or course (as seen in horse show jumping) which they need to accomplish (if you didn’t wish to use obstacles for safety or mobility reasons) which would lead the pair to particular numbers/letters indicated on the wall.

Subject specialisms could also be tested by placing knowledge based answers on the walls and asking the pairs to walk to their answer through the course (see QAARunaround for details of how to do a multiple choice but don’t mix the games in play for safety reasons).

Skill Development: 

This task requires listening and communication skills and also helps builds trust and connections across the pairings.  However the skill development and improved future practice comes from evaluating performance across the group and understanding how and when particular techniques were effective and what lessons that provides for the future.  It is important to acknowledge fears and concerns, or frustrations between the pairings but keep the discussion to the general learning, rather than focusing upon particular experiences of individual pairings as the depth of learning will come from the lessons that can be applied in future group work or communication challenges.  These lessons include clear communication; agreeing ground rules for working together; recognising the need of feedback or support; understanding the importance of clear short messages within these circumstances etc.

Resources:

• Blindfolds
• Large room  - large, safe, open space
• Items that can be used as obstacles which will act as safe barriers (not fall over; not hurt if walked into – no sharp edges)

Objective:

Effective engagement of Alumni seeks to support the students to become:

• be flexible and adaptable, seeing alternative perspectives and offering a choice of solutions
• review and evaluate multiple solutions in contexts that anticipate and accommodate change and contain elements of ambiguity, uncertainty and risk.

Overview:

With the pre-arranged (and prolonged) support of alumni (now professionals) this approach of continued access to external professionals (ideally programme/course Alumni) is designed to prepare students to be able to engage with real clients and better enable them to respond proactively to change.

Externals are invited to engage with the current student group as they undertake a task, using social media (facebook; twitter etc) an/or Skype. This creates either incremental weekly instruction that builds into an overall assignment or regular support or feedback on course work from externals.

Activity

This approach needs pre-agreement and commitment of externals (ideally Programme/course Alumni) who commit to short, but regular interaction through social media or Skype.

This activity can either be driven by a live brief or challenge identified by the external (higher level of engagement) or as comment and support to those undertaking the programme, through sharing expertise and current work experiences. If the students are working on a live brief or task given by the external, this high level of interactivity can mean that summative deadlines can changedand information updated, and the newsworthy or other high profile influences can be included throughout the module. (The assignment usually mirrors an actual assignment undertaken professionally by an Alumni professional).

This engagement can be “managed” by the tutor – to pre-plan some ambiguity or pre-agreed change of brief/scope with the Alumni contact, or left open to allow access to externals as an organic relationship, where advice may be sought by the students or experience/daily practice shared by the Professional as they see fit.

In addition, any presentation /show case or final assignment submission can be shared with the external and their input made part of the summative or formative feedback (assessment strategy).

Note that the choice of social media will impact on the type of engagement between alumni and students, but ideally something that the Alumni member uses regularly will ensure more regular engagement. Even small inputs (as typically seen in social media such as Twitter) can guide student approach and ensure that they are able to ask private questions, and that other students can also learn from the mentor/alumni generic comments or insights.

Skill Development:

Depending upon the level and type of engagement, students can benefit from insights from a ‘typical day/week’ of a professional working in their area, or be pushed to develop their tolerance to ambiguity (through changing deadlines, or unexpected changes to the brief or additional information). This can build resilience in the students but there needs to be clear expectations of this relationship, as well as additional tutor support.

Students typically respond well to changes and additional insights from professional Alumni and can develop their understanding and judgement, in their chosen field, whilst gaining further insight regarding professional practice.

Students should be bought together to share their experience of virtually engaging with their Alumni contact and explore their emotional responses to the changing briefs or additional information. They need to explore, and develop strategies, for coping with ‘real world’ brief/challenges and exploringthis together, and sharing how they dealt with it, and could deal with it in the future, builds their confidence and resilience to change. Using reflective practice to consider the learning across the group can draw out a range of key lessons for preparing for future challenges.

Resources:

Access to, and ongoing (committed) virtual engagement by appropriate alumni – determine brief/project or to commit to regular updating/comment for a pre-agreed period of time.

References:

Penaluna, A., Penaluna, K and Diego, I. (2014) The role of education in enterprising creativity. In Sternberg R and Krauss, G. (2014) Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity. Cheltenham / Massachusetts: Edward Elgar).

Scott, J., Penaluna, A., Thompson, J & Brooksbank, D. Experiential entrepreneurship education: Effectiveness and learning outcomes. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research (Forthcoming)

Jones, C., Penaluna, A., Matlay, H., Penaluna, K. Discovering the Soul of Enterprise Education. Education +Training, Emerald Publishing (Forthcoming)

Penaluna, K., Penaluna, A., Jones, C. and Matlay, H. (2014) ‘When did you last predict a good idea?: Exploring the case of assessing creativity through learning outcomes’, Industry and Higher Education, Vol.8, No.6, December 2014: 399 - 410

Penaluna, A., Coates J. and Penaluna K., (2011) Creativity-Based Assessment and Neural Understandings: A Discussion and Case Study Analysis. Education + Training, Emerald Publishing, Volume 52, Issue 8/9, pp. 660 - 678

Objective:

• To understand team dynamics and how teams come together to achieve a goal
• Understanding the importance of careful research, discussion and planning
• Listening to other members of the team
• Research
• Idea generation
• Sales, persuasion techniques (as needed)

Overview

This exercise is a fantastic way to get people working together as they tackle up to 10 tasks in a given time frame. With limited information (on each other and the tasks presented) the group must navigate through the challenges in order to be the most successful group (back within the time frame; most tasks achieved; most accurate delivery of the tasks). Depending on the tasks selected, specific industry or sector knowledge can be tested as widerskills of background knowledge, research and creative thinking are required. Insist upon evidence of the achievements (photos on flip or camera phones) as well as delivery of objectives.

Activity : This activity needs a long session (such as 120 minutes) to complete, reflection and analysis takes place at the end of the session.

The groups of up to 6 people are sent out to complete > 10 tasks (usually 3 cryptic, 3 researched and 4 fun)

Examples of these could include:

• To find an encryption or statue (or similar engraving) in the University Library
• Two examples of their subject/discipline in practice (photographs or illustrations of)
• Interview a relevant professional in the field
• Find a particular journal article
• How many people can you fit in a phone box
• Share a message on social media as widely as possible

These tasks should be developed beforehand to suit the environment where the day is taking place. Ensure there are fun tasks involved and that everyone has a chance to engage by creating a range of challenges that involve the physical, mental, social aspects of your learners.

To manage this challenge effectively, if it important that you:

• Give strict time frames and penalties for not meeting the time
• Consider the health and safety aspects of all the challenges and adapt to suit your learners (by keeping everyone on campus; in 1 building; or keeping all the tasks within the 1 room etc as necessary).
• Consider whether you wish to keep them all together as a team or are happy for individuals to split off to deliver tasks back to the group.

Practically it can also be helpful to give them a puzzle to solve before they can leave and a further one when they return. This means they are leaving at different times and they return to a final challenge, so that you can record time and award points.

Skill Development:

Depending upon the challenges you create, there is a wide range of transferable skills and knowledge base that you can test during this challenge. You can create tasks that draw upon their:

• Imagination and creativity
• Communication and Strategy
• Problem solving
• Teamwork and organisation
• Route Planning
• Research skills
• Leadership/Persuasion
• Decision making
• Logistics/Systems
• Speed/Precision/Efficiency
• Reflection/Review/Analysis
• Feedback

It is important that you review the challenges and how the groups tackled the tasks in order to draw out the subject learning and these wider skills, before reviewing the wider team experience by exploring:

• How the initial discussions went, did someone take the lead, was it a bit of a shouting match, was it chaos, was there a lack of ideas/too many ideas
• Whose ideas were listened to the most and why
• Who planned the route
• Who was ignored and why
• Whose ideas were taken on board and why, was a consensus achieved
• Who allocated roles
• Who put themselves forward for roles
• How did the actual production go, smooth, chaotic, who took the lead, who organised, how did it progress, how was the mood of the team?
• Was everyone involved? Did everyone need to be involved?
• How did the dynamics between the members of the group change as they went through the different stages
• Were more people involved, less people involved
• How did people participants feel at each stage, did confidence grow or recede
• What skills were employed by the task
• How are these important to a task/team

Drawing out the team dynamics will allow the students to identify the lessons that they can take forward that will improve their future group work and learning experiences.

Ask if they started by sharing their knowledge and skill set or just started on the tasks (the most typical response) and whether they would do that again. Ask when, or if they ever start a task by reviewing when they have collectively or individually undertaken something similar and what was learnt that they could take forward.

Resources:

• Prepared tasks – such as Two indoor puzzles/tasks
• Research the area for tasks to complete
• A flip phone or check if students have their own camera phone
• Flip boards or wall space to show evidence
• A prize
• A timer or watch

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Objective:

The website www.allaboutlinguistics.com has two aims:

• Promoting linguistics as a degree subject, and ensuring that applicants understand what studying linguistics involves and how it differs from and buildings on subjects they have studied at A-Level (like English Language, foreign languages, maths and sciences).
• Helping A-Level students to find out more about linguistics in a user-friendly and accessible way, to help them learn things that take them beyond their A-Level subjects, and give them ideas for projects they might do as coursework investigations if they are taking A-Level English Language.

Introduction:

The website www.allaboutlinguistics.com is built as an assessment by first year students in the School of English at the University of Sheffield as part of core module entitled 'Introduction to Linguistics'.

There isn't an A-Level in Linguistics available in the UK. This means that when students apply to study linguistics, Universities rely on their personalstatements to indicate an interest in linguistics and an understanding of what studying it will involve. AllAboutLinguistics.com aims to enthuse studentsabout linguistics and the possibility of studying it at degree level, through our students sharing the insight that they have gained as beginning linguistics students themselves.

Activity:

• Groups of students work on different topics to contribute to the overall website.
• The groups use Google Sites to create the website.
• Groups are able to see the whole site in development, including work by other groups, but can only edit their own section. This enables students to make links between topics, to link to work from other groups where relevant, and encourages a healthy level of competition between teams, increasing the overall quality of the content produced.

The development of this website is enterprising in many ways. The students have to ensure it met the many needs of its target audience (or 'customer'); they have to consider the appearance, identity and 'brand' of the site as well as its content.

Impact:

In 2012 the site was recognised as Overall Winner in a Google / Association for Learning Technology competition for innovative uses of Google Apps in Education.

Learner Outcome:

Through building the site, students have deepened their understanding of linguistics whilst also gaining valuable transferrable skills in project management, team working, use of web-based systems, and communication and collaboration tools. They have gone on to use these skills in other areas of their learning, and beyond in extracurricular work and employment.

The examples of curriculum development for enterprise related outcomes were originally outlined by Neil Coles at the International Enterprise Educators Conference under the heading 'From Archaeology to Zoology; an A-Z of enterprise in the curriculum'. For his work in contextualising enterprise for any subject, Neil won the 2013 National Enterprise Educator Award.

Resources:

Access to and understanding of Google Sites, or an equivalent platform.

References:

• All About Linguistics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://allaboutlinguistics.com/. [Accessed 13 August 2015].
• Discovering all about linguistics | Enterprise Education. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://enterprise.shef.ac.uk/2012/11/discovering-linguistics. [Accessed 13 August 2015].
• University of Sheffield. English Language and Linguistics. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/english/ugc/programmes/linguistics . [Accessed 13 August 2015].

Author:

With thanks to Mr Gary Wood, School of English, The University of Sheffield g.c.wood@sheffield.a.cuk

Objective:

• To give engineering students an insight into the importance and relevance of public speaking, presentation, and communication skills to their subject area.
• To equip students with insights, strategies and skills to become more effective communicators.
• To allow students to reflect on the diverse environments in which they will require public speaking skills in the future, and to reflect on the most effective strategies to employ in each instance.
• To provide students with a practical opportunity to nurture and develop their communication skills.

Introduction:

In the working world, engineers are required to work with numerous stakeholders, from their own sector and from others, based locally, nationally and internationally. Engineering students will find themselves in many interview and presentation scenarios at the seek employments throughout their career, and clarity in communication will be essential in all areas of their professional practice. To that end, skills in public speaking, presenting and effective communication are essential.

An hour long session was run for a group of approximately 20 first year engineering students at Glyndwr University (studying on the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies BEng programme), as an introduction to these skills, to be built on and consolidated throughout the rest of their time at the University.

The session formed part of a larger programme of guest speakers and practical workshops for the students (See How to Guide on Guest Speakers), designed specifically to give the students skills for employability and self-employment, and a greater appreciation of the real world context for their studies. It was delivered by the University’s ZONE Enterprise Hub Manager, on the invitation of the course tutor.

Activity:

The session followed the format which can be found in the ‘Workshop - How to Speak in Public’ How to Guide.

The students began the session with an introduction to the themes which would be covered, namely; how to structure a presentation, how to use tools effectively; how to present clearly; how to control and manage nerves, and how to deal with questions.

A brief discussion initiated the session, whereby students offered their thoughts on why public speaking skills were relevant in their sector, and how they might employ them in the future. From here, each of the themes above was covered in turn (with discussion following the pattern as outlined in the How to Guide).

At each stage, examples were chosen which were appropriate to the audience in hand. For example, in discussing structure and tools, a presentation on solar power was considered, and in discussing use of the appropriate language, thought was given to how an engineer would discuss the same technical point, with various expert and non-expert clients.

At the end of the one hour session, the key themes covered were re-capped, and students were offered the opportunity to ask questions, and directed to further support, links and reading if they wished to explore the issues further.

Impact:

Though the session was limited to one hour only, it still made a valuable impact upon the students. Through initial discussions, students had a clear understanding of the purpose of the session, and its direct relevance and appropriateness to them.

As new undergraduates, many had limited experience of presentation and interview environments, and so the session was timely, giving a broad overview to key points, with clear direction on how to consolidate what was learned. However, the lasting impact of the session will be sustained if the students are offered continued opportunities to explore, hone and develop these skills in a variety of simulated and real-world environments.

Learner outcome:

Immediately after the session, students reported feeling more relaxed about public speaking, more confident, and better equipped going forward. Feedback comments included;

“Very useful”

“Very good. Gained knowledge to help for future presentations.”

“Really good presentation. Well structured, paced, and encouraged audience participation.”

“Good presentation on presentation.”

“Great presentation; well prepared, greatly delivered, well explained.”

“Very informative. Thank you!”

Resources:

• For a step-by-step guide to this activity, see How To Guide 'Workshop: How To Speak In Public.'
• YouTube Video of How to Speak in Public Workshop, Creative Futures Conference, March 2015 > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA

References:

• BBC - The Speaker - Improve your public speaking. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/speaker/improve/ . [Accessed 28 July 2015].
• Corcoran, Mike. How to Speak in Public - YouTube. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA. [Accessed 29 July 2015].
• McCarthy, Patsy, 2002. Presentation Skills: The Essential Guide for Students (Study Skills). Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp70-106 & 219-236).
• Shephard, Kerry, 2005. Presenting at Conferences, Seminars and Meetings. 1 Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd (pp1-18 & 138-148).
• Van Emden, Joan, 2010. Presentation Skills for Students (Palgrave Study Skills). 2 Edition. Palgrave Macmillan (pp1-61).
• Zone Enterprise Hub, Topic: ZONE Resources. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11. [Accessed 28 July 2015].

Objective:

• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of the principles behind effective communication.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of the importance of a personal brand, and how a personal brand is developed.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with a greater understanding of how communication strategies and brand apply to individuals and businesses in a social media context.
• To provide students studying towards BSc Entrepreneurship with practical opportunities to develop the social media presence of their own business endeavours.

Introduction:

The ability to communicate effectively through social media is an essential asset for any business.

The BSc (Hons) Entrepreneurship Degree Programme at Glyndwr University attracts students with a passion for business, and many who have already launched their own enterprises. However, many lack confidence with, and knowledge and understanding of, how to utilise social media to best effect to support their businesses.

Facilitated by programme tutor Sarah Elizabeth Evans, and delivered by Mike Corcoran and the University's enterprise service 'ZONE', the workshop 'Being Heard' was delivered to address these concerns for a small group of 4 students. The workshop followed the format as outlined in How To Guide 'Workshop: Being Heard' (see resources). The workshop was delivered from a computer lab, over a two hour session, and combined the presentation elements of the workshop, with group and one-to-one discussion, and opportunities to work in real-time on the students own social media platforms.

The AV presentation for use in the delivery of the workshop can be downloaded via the link to the 'ZONE Enterprise Hub' web pages listed in the resources and references at the end of this document.

Activity:

(See Resources / References for materials to accompany the delivery of this activity).

Activity Part 1: Introduction

• The themes of the workshop were introduced to the group.
• Taking advantage of the small group size, a group discussion allowed students to share details of their own enterprises or enterprise ambitions, along with their current usage, knowledge and understanding of social media. This ensured the remainder of the workshop was delivered at an appropriate level and contextualised appropriately for the learners.

Activity Part 2: Communication

• The group explored the principles behind effective communication (in any arena) namely; presentation structure, the use of tools, and powerful delivery.
• This section followed the format of the workshop 'How to Speak in Public', a guide and resources for which, can be found in the 'Resources / References' section of this document.

Activity Part 2: Personal Brand

• Students were presented with the logos of various companies, and discussed the words and feelings which a brought to mind when they saw each.
• They discussed what the reasons for these are, and the actions companies have taken to bring them about.
• The students then reflected on the brand identity of their own businesses or business ideas.

Activity Part 3: Social Media

• In accordance with the needs as identified by the students and their tutor, this section of the workshop was the main focus of the session.
• The students discussed how each of the points discussed in communication and branding applied within a social media context.
• The students looked at various case studies, a mixture of graduate start-ups, national and international organisations, and discussed how each utilised social media to engage with their audience. The students identified how the skills of branding and communication were being applied within the social media context.
• At this stage, the students also looked at examples of negative feedback on social media. The problems encountered by businesses on social media were discussed, and the students suggested solutions to the identified problems.
• The students own business endeavours were discussed in turn, and the group discussed how each could utilise social media to greatest effect.
• The students then used the computers in the lab to log into their own social media platforms. For those without platforms, the students were directed through the creation of these step-by-step.
• They then used developed their platforms, with one-to-one support offered by Mike and Sarah.

Activity Part 4: Conclusion

• The main themes of the workshop were re-capped.
• Students were recommended additional resources and support available to support them, and further upcoming events, looking at social media for business in more detail, were advertised to students.

Impact:

• The results of the workshop made an immediate impact on participants, as the social media presence of their real business endeavours was worked upon and improved during the workshop, directly impacting on their enterprises.
• The activities were well received by the programme tutor, and the workshop fostered further collaborative working between programme and ZONE at Glyndwr University.

Learner outcome:

• Positive feedback was received from learners, who reported that the activity helped them to improve their confidence in using social media, and their understanding of how to make it work for their businesses.
• Several learners reported reservations and concerns regarding social media at the beginning of the session, and having time to discuss and debate these concerns allowed them to consider how they could be managed and alleviated, as well as encouraging peer-to-peer learning and support amongst the group as ideas were shared.

Resources:

• Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to accompany this activity can be downloaded via > https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11.
• See How-To Guide 'Workshop: Being Heard' for a detailed outline of this workshop, and 'Workshop: How to Speak in Public' for a more in depth exploration of public speaking skills.

References:

• Glyndŵr University - Entrepreneurship. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/en/Undergraduatecourses/Entrepreneurship/ . [Accessed 07 August 2015].
• Zone Enterprise Hub, Topic: ZONE Resources. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37§ion=11 . [Accessed 28 July 2015].

Author:

www.macorcoran.com

With thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Evans, PhD student, Business School, Glyndwr University

If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

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Objectives:

• To build a profile of (future) customer as a person
• To develop the business offer through a broader understanding of the customer needs
• To  support critical thinking and evaluation of ideas 

Overview: 

This exercise enables students to demonstrate their understanding of their potential customer and deepen that understanding to create a robust offer.

Activity: 

Give each group or individual a sheet of paper with an outline of (non-male or female) person drawn in the middle. 

Ask them to depict on the figure what they might know about their (future) customer.  This requires them to visually-describe their customer, including things like: 

• Where do they live, work, spend time outside of work and home
• How much do they earn
• Where else might they access products/services like yours
• How do they think, feel
• What experience do they expect 
• What concerns do they have
• What life to do they lead

The purpose is to try and establish a real understanding of what is important to a potential customer, rather than drawing out key “facts” about them (disposable income etc).

Once all the drawings are done, everyone looks collectively at the different customer outlines and tries to add further understanding from what they can see.  The owner of the drawing need not accept these, but can include anything relevant onto their picture.

Once every drawing has been explored, each team/individual needs to articulate one message that they have learnt from this exercise that they can take forward into their planning.  So if offering fast-food to a student customer base, they may have identified price as critical.  However the wider discussion might have identified that students may also select to eat somewhere that is offering free wifi to allow them to connect with others or make plans with each other.  Or if the customer base was a family, then other elements that are important to them such as child-friendly parking, might indicate 1 premises to be more attractive than another.  This “linked” thinking allows the student to draw out the wider benefits of their product or service and explore it in order to create an effective offer.

Skill Development: 

Whilst this task can be based on initial research undertaken by the student, the critical thinking comes from the assumptions that the wider group offer to develop their thinking.  This shows the power of group work and allows the students to deepen their own thinking through the examples of others.

It is useful to explore this task at the end of the session to see how the groups found sharing and testing their assumptions in a group environment.

Resources: 

Paper, pens, flipchart (outline of a person)

Objective:

• Develop and demonstrate their understanding of their customers, by describing their characteristics and motivations.

Overview: 

This activity should be undertaken individually by the entrepreneur, then to be discussed with the business development provider or peers in a group situation.  Asking the entrepreneur to explain their answers will help them to deepen their understanding of their customers, help to identify where there are information gaps and therefore what additional market research may be required.

Activity: 

Instructions

Invite the entrepreneurs / small business owner to consider their customers and to describe them in terms of each of the following categories:

• Demographic, who are your customers?  What is their typical profile in terms of age, gender, income, employment status etc.? 
• Geographic, where are your customers and where do they buy your products / services?
• Psychographic, what’s important to your customers? What are their values and aspirations; what kind of lifestyle do they have? 
• Behaviour, how often and when do your customers buy?

And then describe what the benefits the product or service brings to customers.

My customers …..

The benefit of my product / service to my customers is …..

Skill Development:

By developing analytical and reasoning skills within entrepreneurial learners, it is possible to test assumptions and explore research findings with a clear context of start-up.  This activity focuses upon the understanding of the potential customer and requires research and reflective skills.

Objective:

• Develop their own ‘marketing message’ – content that can be used to describe their product / service that will inform customers about what it is; inspire them to make a purchase by explaining the benefits the product / service offers; and provide details of how to engage so that the customers knows what to do to make a purchase.

Overview:

The focus of this task is to develop a well-constructed marketing message which describes the benefits of a product/service to customers.

Activity:

Instructions  

Invite the entrepreneur to complete the ‘Message Matrix’ below to describe their product or service:

By sharing and discussing their Message Matrix with a business development provider or fellow entrepreneur, the ‘Marketing Message’ can be refined and developed to ensure that it is clear, understandable to a wider audience and that key information is not omitted.

This activity can be undertaken for different groups of customers as a slightly different message may be needed for each.

Skill Development:

By working in groups, or through watching each other present their work, students are able to learn further and deepen their own work.  It is useful to draw any presentation or discussion session to a close by asking what they now wished they had done, or what they are now going to do, in order to ensure there is action from learning.

Objective:

• Understand the use of a SWOT Analysis
• Complete a SWOT Analysis for a business

Overview:

The activity is designed to assist the entrepreneur/ small business owner to create a SWOT Analysis for their business. This is normally completed before the business starts, however review and examination (re-completing a SWOT Analysis) throughout the life of the business is recommended, especially to support any major decision making.
This activity can be completed by anyone/group who wants to understand what a SWOT Analysis is.

Firstly, what is a SWOT & how is it used?

A successful business considers the wider environment in which it operates.  In the business planning process, the SWOT analysis provides a framework to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the internal aspects of your business; and the opportunities and threats of the environment in which you are operating.

For example, your business planning should consider factors such as:


•  The state of the economy [local/regional/national] and how growth and decline are likely to affect your sales business
•  Changes in legislation that could support or create a burden for your business
•  Social trends that may have an impact on market size or consumer choice
•  Political pressures for or against your business activity

Carrying out a thorough SWOT helps you to plan to maximise strengths, take opportunities to meet customer needs and develop the business.  It also allows you to develop ways of overcoming any weaknesses, and removing or being prepared for potential threats.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths and weaknesses are issues that already exist and are internal to the business. 

Examples of common strengths and weaknesses include:
Strengths: You as the entrepreneur
 Relevant experience e.g. 5 years working in retail/with children
 Transferable or life skills such as being a good organiser / time manager etc.
 Skills that are directly related to the business such as design skills, customer service, financial management skills
Strengths: Your business
 A good location, convenient and accessible to customers
 Highly level of expertise in staff team
 Confirmed orders for your product / service
Weaknesses: You
 Inexperienced at running your own business
 Additional training / accreditation required e.g. hygiene certificate
 Limited selling skills
Weaknesses: Your business
 Need to borrow funds to set up
 Waste in business operations
 Working from home, with limited space to work and danger of becoming isolated

Opportunities and Threats
These are external issues that your business may face, consider what could happen?
Opportunities
 Fulfil some needs of customers which you know at this stage are not  being met e.g. a delivery service to busy or housebound customers
 Offer something different (compared to who you know to be probable competition) or something better e.g. beauty services for men / a luxury product range
 Possible changes in the business environment or market place e.g. increase in mobile phone market creates growth in accessories
 Access certain support – if your business is in a regeneration area, for example
 Changes in the law which might affect your business operations, such as changes in licensing laws
Threats
 Increasing cost of borrowing
 Emerging competition using your ideas
 Personal illness may affect running of the business
 Technological advances making your equipment or methods outdated
 Changes or reductions in government spending
 Disagreements between partners

Sample SWOT Analysis:
 
1. For a domestic cleaning business:

Activity:

If you are working with an individual or group who is going to set up their own business, invite them to complete a SWOT Analysis for their business.

If the individuals are not considering setting up their own business, then ask the group to complete a SWOT Analysis on a famous company. A favourite is to chose well known brands such as McDonalds, what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats for them, but specific sector specialists can be chosen.

Another exercise is to consider what a SWOT would have looked like when designing a product. For this exercise, split the groups into 4-6 people. Ask them to think back to when they owned a CD player or depending on their age, a Walkman or even record player.
Ask them to imagine that they have invented the ipod and need to outline its strengths and weaknesses to their shareholders.

Give each of them a piece of flip chart, draw a cross and mark an S, W ,O, T (one in each of the quadrants) and work on each section together as a group.
Ask them to ask themselves, What are the Strengths of the IPOD – How is it a better product that the CD player? What are the weaknesses of the product?
Looking at the wider environment, what opportunities has the iPOD got to develop and finally what are the weaknesses.

The session should take no more than 30 minutes and around the same if they are to report their findings back to the group.

 
Skill Development:

Completing a SWOT Analysis helps individuals to consider both internal and external factors. To complete the exercise, the group will need to use a number of skills including – research, audit, evaluation, discussion, debate, negotiation & presentation.

 
Resources:
• Post-its or similar sticky pads
• Pens 
• Papers/pads
• Flip charts 

Objective:

To create a clear understanding of their competitors, using SW analysis.

Overview: 

A SWOT analysis is a useful tool for analysis, when actions and conclusions are drawn from it.  

Activity: 

Instructions

Invite the entrepreneur / small business owner to identify their key competitors (at least 3), and list the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Examples of strengths and weaknesses for a bicycle manufacturing business,

Strengths 

• Reliable products
• Well respected brand 
• Competitively priced
• Focussed on specialist market 

Weaknesses

• Limited capacity to produce 
• Outdated methods of production
• Lack of marketing expertise
• Low profit margin

Consideration should then be given to each of the competitors, and compared with the entrepreneur or small business owners’ view of their own business.

• What can be learnt from the competitors’ strengths?  
• What can be done better than the competition?
• Are there any weaknesses that can be exploited?

This analysis can then inform what approach the entrepreneur / small business owner takes to developing their own business and to understand how they can best create or sustain a competitive advantage.

The key to using SWOT is now determine a course of action from this analysis.

Students can be invited to present their work and comment to provide constructive criticism, which is future focused.  

Skill Development:

By placing a clear focus on future action, rather than analysis, this will build skills of evaluation, decision making and judgement which lend themselves to action.  

If you would like to have your How to Guide featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the How to Guide.

• How to Guide Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.

If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the Case Study.

• Case Study Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.